Institute for Biblical & Scientific Studies

News:
February 21, 2005

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Religion in the News

Scholars examine
the humorous side of the Bible
Theology and Christian literature scholars gathering in Turin say the Old
and New Testaments are riddled with humorous references and they are holding
a three-day congress aiming to set the record straight (PA, U.K.)

Robertson:
GOP must push judges through
Evangelist Pat Robertson indicated Tuesday that if Senate Majority Leader
Bill Frist expects backing of religious conservatives for a possible 2008
presidential bid, he had better get President Bush's judicial nominees confirmed
by the Senate, or at least voted on. (Associated Press)

Christian broadcasters convene,
revel in Bush victory
With millions of religious Americans pivotal in returning President Bush
to the White House, Christian broadcasters gathered for their annual convention
this week are loudly claiming credit for being the high-tech shepherds to
that politically potent flock. (The New York Sun)

Former
Muslim to head seminary
The Rev. Jerry Falwell has named Ergun Caner, a converted Sunni Muslim,
to head the Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary at Liberty University (The
News & Advance, Lynchburg, Va.)

DA: No charges
at Peak to Peak
A mother said her eighth-grade daughter, who no longer attends Peak to Peak
charter school, tried to kill herself as a way to escape religious bullying
on the part of fundamentalist Christian classmates (Daily Times-Call,
Longmont, Co.)

Va.
school board okays keeping Bible classes
Public elementary schools will continue to allow Bible classes during class
time while the local school board conducts a one-year review to determine
if criticism of the practice by some parents is valid (Associated Press)

Not a
Tame Lion
An engaging theologian questions the Jesus of modern scholars. Reviewed
by Jeremy Lott.

A powerful
Pentateuch
Robert Alter's wonderful new translation and accompanying commentary to
the Pentateuch, the Five Books of Moses or Jewish Torah, is in a class by
itself (The Washington Times)

Bible
translation stirs gender debate
The release of a new Bible translation this week pushes to the forefront
a hair-splitting debate among evangelical Christians. Depending on whom
you ask, the Today's New International Version Bible is either a way to
connect with a new generation or a paean to the feminist agenda (The
Dallas Morning News)

Science in the News

Archaeology/Anthropology

Archaeologist
unearths Biblical controversy
A Canadian researcher has found evidence (a fortress) confirming the Biblical
dates for the kingdom of Edom, contradicting widespread academic belief
that it did not come into being until 200 years later.

Fossil
Reanalysis Pushes Back Origin of Homo sapiens
A new analysis of human remains first discovered in 1967 suggests that they
are in fact much older than previously believed. The results, published
today in the journal Nature, push back the emergence of our species
by nearly 35,000 years.

Astronomy

'Pack
ice' suggests frozen sea on Mars
An 800-kilometre-wide sea, surviving as broken plates, appears to lie just
beneath the surface in observations from the Mars Express spacecraft. The
sea is just 5 degrees north of the Martian equator and would be the first
discovery of a large body of water outside the planet's polar ice caps.

Misconceptions
about the Big Bang
Was it a colossal explosion? Can galaxies recede faster than light? How
large is the observable universe? Even astronomers frequently get the answers
wrong.

Shuttle
Discovery To Launch May 15: NASA Washington (AFP) Feb 19, 2005
NASA will launch space shuttle Discovery to the International Space Station
in May, and Atlantis will make the flight in July, the US space agency said,
firming up plans for the resumption of space shuttle flights more than two
years after the Columbia disaster. fullstory at

Planets Galore:
12 New Discoveries Announced Pasadena CA (JPL) Feb 17, 2005
The past four weeks have been heady ones in the planet-finding world: Three
teams of astronomers announced the discovery of 12 previously unknown worlds,
bringing the total count of planets outside our solar system to 145.

First Critical
Parts Of Giant Neutrino Telescope In Place Madison WI (SPX) Feb 16,
2005
Working under harsh Antarctic conditions, an international team of scientists,
engineers and technicians has set in place the first critical elements of
a massive neutrino telescope at the South Pole.

Dose
of spirituality has healthful effect
A variety of studies suggest that emotional happiness, including the kind
often found among members of spiritual and religious communities, bolsters
the immune system against the flu, colds, and other illnesses (The Boston
Globe)

'Intelligent
design' flap inspires school board campaigns
Two Dover Area School District board members who have resigned in protest
of the policy say they plan to circulate nominating petitions for the May
17 primary election. A plaintiff in a federal lawsuit against the district
is also expected to make a bid for the board. (Associated Press)

Researcher
claims bias by Smithsonian
A former editor of a scientific journal has filed a complaint against the
Smithsonian Institution, charging that he was discriminated against on the
basis of perceived religious and political beliefs because of an article
he published that challenged the Darwinian theory of evolution (The Washington
Times)

Scientists
document complex genomic events leading to the birth of new genes HEIDELBERG,
Germany, Mon., February 14, 2005
A team of scientists led by Peer Bork, Ph.D., Senior Bioinformatics Scientist
at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, report today in the journal
Genome Research that they have identified a new primate-specific gene family
that spans about 10% of human chromosome 2. Comprised of eight family members,
the RGP gene cluster may help to explain what sets apart humans and other
primates from the rest of the animal kingdom.

Earth Science

A Revolution
In Oceanic Exploration Reveals An "Alien" World On Earth Washington
DC (SPX) Feb 21, 2005
Scientists can now visualize the ocean floor in remote areas of the Arctic,
observe rockfish hideouts, and see live images of coral cities thousands
of meters under the sea's surface. Soon their robots will be able to "live"
on the bottom of the ocean - monitoring everything from signs of tsunamis
to the effects of deep sea drilling.

Ancient
Tsunami Jumbled Fossil Record? Feb. 16, 2005
Flash flooding tsunami waters, following a massive meteor impact in the
Gulf of Mexico, may have messed up the geological record 65 million years
ago, say New Mexican and Mexican geologists.

Physics

Psychology

Exploding
the Self-Esteem Myth
Boosting people's sense of self-worth has become a national preoccupation.
Yet surprisingly, research shows that such efforts are of little value in
fostering academic progress or preventing undesirable behavior.